F1 – 2013 Monaco GP Practice – Sauber F1 Team

Monaco Grand Prix – Practice – Thursday, 23.05.2013

Weather: sunny, 22-24°C air, 30-47°C track

The first two practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix were trouble-free for the Sauber F1 Team. Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez concentrated on the balance of the car and the comparison between the two tyre compounds, soft and super soft. Esteban drove a Formula One car in the Principality for the first time today, and he quickly found his confidence on such a tricky track. Althought both drivers were able to improve the performance of their cars, there is still some room for improvement with the performance.
Nico Hülkenberg:Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 01/Ferrari 056)1st Practice: 14th / 1:18.193 min (26 laps) / 2nd Practice 13th / 1:16.823 min (43 laps)“It was a good day, and we were able to work through the programme without any issues. The balance of the car improved during FP2, and we know the track will improve and get faster throughout the weekend. We collected a lot of data, and there is still room for improvement.”
Esteban Gutiérrez:Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari 056)1st Practice: 16th / 1:18.754 min (28 laps) / 2nd Practice 15th / 1:16.935 min (45 laps)“It was a positive day in many aspects. In the first practice session, I focused on finding confidence in the car. It was quite tricky, because it’s a very narrow and bumpy track, and in the beginning, it’s very difficult to read the car. But this is something we were able to improve in the second session. It was important to have the reference between the two cars. It’s evident the gap to the front is quite big, and we need to find more speed in qualifying. Nevertheless I definitely enjoyed today, and we will keep pushing for the limit.”
Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering:“It was a trouble-free day, and we were maximising track time. For Esteban it was the first day in a Formula One car on this track, and he got up to speed pretty quickly. The updated parts are working as intended, which is positive. It’s clear traffic management is going to be key in Monaco, as usual. We were able to improve the car between FP1 and FP2, but there is still some more to find.”